Shoe tree with adjustable heel member



Dec. 18, 1962 D. s. WILLIAMS SHOE TREE WITH ADJUSTABLE HEEL MEMBER 2 Sheets$heet 1 Filed Oct. 6, 1961 QR a jazz/2Z5.

A'TTO RN EYE Dec. 18, 1962 D. s. WILLIAMS SHOE TREE WITH ADJUSTABLE HEEL MEMBER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 6, 1961 ired SHOE TREE WITH ADJUSTABLE HEEL MEMBER Daniel S. Wiiiiams, 26 E. Lancaster Ave, fihillington, Pa.

Filed Get. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 143,398 2 Claims. (Cl. 12116.6)

The present invention relates to an improved shoe tree for helping to maintain or preserve the shape of shoes such as mens, womens, ladies shoes or the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a shoe tree which includes a novel and efficient adjusting mean t that permits the shoe tree of the present invention to be readily adjusted to fit shoes of difierent sizes or shapes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe tree which can be readily adapted to various types of shoes such as mens, childrens or ladies shoes, and wherein the shoe tree of the present invention can be readily adjusted to exert the proper amount of pressure on the shoe so that when the shoes are not being worn the shoes will not readily get out of shape or become wrinkled or the like, and wherein the shoe tree of the present invention utilizes a unique spring action for insuring that the proper and desired pressure will be maintained on the shoe where desired and needed, to maintain the shoes in their proper shape.

Another object is to provide a device of the character that may be utilized speedily and with precision by even inexperienced users, and further objects and advantages are to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a device of the character described that is economical to produce, durable in form, and conducive to the most economical use of materials and uniformity of members formed therefrom.

Still further objects and advantages will become apparent in the subsequent description in the specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the shoe tree of the present invention, and with parts broken away and in section.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through a shoe and showing the shoe tree of the present invention positioned in the shoe.

FIGURE 3 is a view generally similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the reverse side thereof, and showing the shoe tree being removed or applied to the shoe.

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view showing the toe piece of the shoe tree of the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a rear View of the heel member.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional View taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8 but showing the parts in unlocked position.

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line iii-It) of FIGURE 3 and with the parts in locked position.

FIGURE 11 is a view similar to FIGURE 10 but showing the parts in unlocked position.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary elevational view showing an end of the spring member with the locking tongue or struck-out portion thereon.

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view taken on the line 1313 of FIGURE 12.

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary bottom plan View illustrating a modification.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGURES ,1 through 13 of the drawings, the

3,068,592 Patented Dec. 18, 1962 numeral 20 indicates the shoe tree of the present invention which is adapted to be used in a shoe such as the shoe 21, FIGURE 2, and wherein the shoe 21 is of conventional construction and includes the usual sole 2.2 as well as a heel 23 and a back part or heel part 24 and the usual upper or body portion 29.

As shown in the drawings the shoe tree 20 comprises a toe piece which is indicated generally by the numeral 25, and the toe piece 25 has a slot 26 therein, and the slot 26 is shaped to include a rearwardly disposed generally straight portion 27 as well as a forwardly disposed enlarged circular portion 28, FIGURE 1.

As shown in the drawings the toe piece 25 further includes tapered and inclined rear edges 30 and 3 1, and the toe piece 25 is further shaped to include spaced apart side sections 3 2, FIGURE 5, and there is provided on the lower portions of the side sections 32, diametrically opposed inwardly projecting flange portions 35, and as shown in FIGURE 1 the front of the toe piece 25 is generally rounded as at 34.

As shown in FIGURE 5 for example, there is provided enlarged portions or thickened portions that are integral with the inner portions of the side sections 32, and these enlarged portions 35 have recesses 36 therein, and there is provided indentations 37 which communicate with the recesses 36. The numeral 38 indicates a spring member which includes an intermediate portion 39 as well as angularly arranged side portions 40, and the side portions 46 terminate in forwardly disposed spaced parallel fingers 4d which are seated in the recesses 36. The

fingers 41 are provided with struck-out portions or tongues 42. for engaging the indentations 37 so as to maintain the spring member 38 connected tothe toe piece 25.

The numeral 43 indicates a support member which may have a generally rectangular formation in cross-section, FIGURE 11, so that the support member as includes flat outer surfaces 44, and the support member 43 is hollow whereby there is defined therein an elongated bore 45 of cylindrical formation. The numeral 46 indicates a fiat surface on the support member 43 which communicates with the bore 45, for a purpose to be later described.

An enlarged head 47 is secured to or formed integral with the front end of the support member 43, and the head 47 is hollow as at 43 for the projection ther-ethrough of the intermediate portion 3% of the spring member 38.

The numeral 49 indicates a shank which is adapted to selectively telescope in and out of the bore 45 of the support member 43, and the shank 49 is provided on its front end with a body portion 54 of cylindrical formation, and the body portion 5%) has a shoulder or cam surface 51 thereon for selectively coacting with the flat surface 46 in order to provide a locking action, as for example when the parts are in the position of FIGURES 8 and 10.

Projecting inwardly from the support member 43 and secured thereto or formed integral therewith is a lug or tongue 52. The shank has thereon a plurality of spaced parallel arcuate ribs 53 which are spaced apart so as to provide or define grooves 54 therebetween, and these ribs 53 are provided with registering or aligned slots 55 which are arranged in alignment with a slot 57 in the body portion so that an elongated channel 56 is defined which is adapted to be selectively engaged by the tongue 5'2 when the shoe tree of the present invention is being adjusted.

The numeral 58 indicates a heel member which is formed integral with the rear end of the shank 49, and the heel member 58 includes lower and rearwardly disposed rounded surfaces 59 and 60, FIGURE 2. The heel member 58 further includes a slanting top section 61, and the heel member 58 is of one piece or integral construction so that it includes a depending web portion 62 as well as an upstanding web portion '63 which integrally joins the top section 61 to the portion 64 of the heel member 58. The top section 61 has a generally tapered formation so that the top section 61 includes a generally narrow rear portion 69 as well as a widened forwardly disposed portion Iti. 7

Referring now to FIGURE 14 of the drawings, there is illustrated a modified shoe tree which is indicated generally by the numeral 71, and in FIGURE 14 the shoe tree 71 is shown to include the toe piece 25 which has the same construction as previously described, and the spring member 33 is connected to a head 47 on the front end of a base piece 72.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a shoe tree which is adapted to be used for maintaining a shoe in its proper shape, and in use with the 'parts arranged as shown in the drawings, it will be seen that the shoe tree 2%} of the present invention is adapted to be positioned in a shoe such as the shoe 21, and where- .in the toe piece 2.5 is snugly arranged within the front portion of the shoe, and wherein the heel member 58 is arranged in the back part of the shoe so that the parts such as the toe piece 25 will exert the proper pressure on the adjacent portions of the shoe in order to help keep the shoe properly shaped when the shoe is not being worn.

It is to be noted that the heel member 58 includes the top section 61 which has the rearwardly disposed narrow portion 69 as well as the forwardly arranged wide portion 73 and this configuration of'the top section 6?; conforms to the adjacent upper rear portion of the shoe 21. The heel member 58 also includes the rounded surfaces '59 and 60 which are curved in such a manner so as to facilitate placement of the heel member in the shoe or removal of the heel member from the shoe, as shown in FIGURE 3, and these surfaces 59 and of} function as a cam surface to help insure that the desired pressure will be exerted by the toe piece 25 on the portions of the shoe to be'kept in shape. The heel member 58 includes the portion 64 which is formed integral with the shank 49, and the shank 45? has a plurality of spaced parallel circular flanges or r ibs 53 thereon, and these flanges 53 are provided with aligned slots 55 which are arranged in registry with a slot 57 in the body portion 6t} on the end of the shank 49. The purpose of these registering slots 55 and 57 is to permit a convenient means for adjusting the effective length of the shoe tree. Thus, by manually rotating or turning the heel member 58 and shank 49 a quarter turn from its locked position, the slots 55 or 57 can be brought. into registry with the tongues 52 so that the shank 49 can be moved in or out of the bore 45 in the support member 43 whereby the effective length of the shoe tree can be varied or adjusted as desired or required so that the shoe tree can be used in shoes of diiferent lengths or sizes. After the shoe tree has been adjusted to its desired or required size, the heel member 58 and shank 49 can be again rotated a quarter turn whereby the slots 55 will be out of registry with the tongue 52 so that no further movement or adjustment of the shank 49 in the bore 45 will take place. When the shoe tree is being used in a shoe such as the shoe 21, the cam surface 51 on the body portion is in frictional type engagement with the fiat surface 46 of the support member 43 so that a wedging frictional coaction will take place between the surfaces 46 and 51 in order to help insure that there will be no rattling or wobbling of the shank in the bore 45. In addition, with the parts or surfaces 51 and 46 in coacting contiguous relationship as when the shoe tree is in locked 7 position, accidental movement or inadvertent adjustment of the shoe tree will be prevented. However, when suflicient manual pressure is applied to the heel member 58,

the holding force between the surfaces 46 and 51 can be readily overcome in order to cause the shoulder or cam surface 51 to move away from or out of engagement with the fiat surface 46 whereby there will be sufficient clearance between the shank and bore 45 so as to permit the desired longitudinal or telescoping adjusting move ment of the shank in the bore.

The outer surfaces of the support member 43 may be a somewhat flattened as at 44 so that such flattened surfaces 44 can be used as a convenient hand grip and wherein these flattened surfaces will help prevent the support members from slipping in the hand or between the fingers: as for example during adjustment of the shoe tree.

It is to be noted that longitudinal adjustment of the shoe tree can only take place when the tongue 52 is in registry with the slots 55 or 57, and when the shoe tree is being used, the tongue 52 goes out of registry or alignment with the slots 55 and 57, so that when no adjustment is being made, the tongue 52 is received in the spaces or grooves 54 between ribs 53.

Qertain of the parts such as the shank and support membar and toe piece may be made of a suitable material such as plastic so that these parts will have a slight amount of give or resilience which will permit the desired adjustment to take place in the most efficient manner.

As shown in FIGURE 2 for example, the top section 6-1 of the heel member 58 has a somewhat slanting or inclined position so that it will be properly aligned with the adjacent upper rear portion of the shoe in which the device of the present invention is being used.

The support member 43 has the head 47 formed integral with the front end thereof, and the interior of the head 47 is hollow as at 48 for receiving therein the intermediate portion 39 of the spring member 38. The spring member 38 has its forwardly disposed fingers or portions 4.1 fixedly connected to the sides of the toe piece 25, and this connection between the spring member and toe piece s made permanent due to the provision of the struck-out portions 42 which engage the indentations 37. Thus, when initially assembling the shoe tree, the fingers 41 are adapted to be inserted in the recesses 36, and when the fingers 41 are inserted in the fingers 36 a sufficient distance, the struck-out portions 42 will automatically move into locking engagement with the indentations 37 so as to prevent accidental separation of the spring member from the toe piece. The space or hollow 48 in the head 47 permits the intermediate portion 39 of the spring member 38 to move or swivel in the head 47 so that this arrangement provides a swivel joint'or connection between the head and spring member. This swivel mounting is important because as shown in FIGURE 3 it permits convenient removal or insertion of the shoe tree from or into the shoe, and due to the provision of this swivel joint, there Will be no likelihood of the parts breaking at this point since the swivel action permits the parts to bend or move in order to permit the necessary displacement of the support member 43 and is associated parts during removal or insertion of the shoe tree.

The toe piece 25 is of one piece construction and is provided with the elongated slot 26 which is shaped to include the forwardly disposed circular portion 28 as well as the rearwardly disposed portion 27, and the provision of the slot 26 serves to impart to the toe piece 25 a required or desired amount of resilience so that the toe piece 25 will have a normal tendency to expand in the shoe to exert the desired amount of pressure on the front part of the shoe whereby the shoe will be kept in its desired formation or shape. However, due to the provision of the slot 26, the parts of the toe piece on opposite sides of the slot can move towards and away from each other in order to permit the toe piece to readily adapt to shoes of different sizes or shapes. In addition the spring mem ber 38 serves to help exert the desired pressure on the toe piece so that the toe piece will carry out its desired functions. The toe piece 25 is provided with the sides 32 as well as the bottom flanges 33 and the toe piece also has the rearwardly disposed edges 30 and 31 whereby the toe piece is of a desired configuration or formation to properly fit snugly in the front part of the shoe.

Attention is directed to the modification of FIGURE 14, wherein it will be seen that the shoe tree 71 consists only of the toe piece 25, spring member 38, head 47 and handle or base piece 72, and it will be seen that in FIG- URE 14 parts such as the support member 43, shank 49 and heel member 48 are omitted. The base piece 72 may be provided with a hand gripping or finger gripping portion to facilitate placement or removal of the shoe tree from a ladys shoe or the like.

The parts can be made of any suitable material and in different shapes or sizes.

The shoe tree of the present invention can be used for different types of shoes such as mens, ladies, or childrens shoes. The toe piece 25 is provided with the slot as so that the toe piece will have a tendency to normally adjust itself to conform to the shape and form of a shoe in which the toe piece is positioned.

When it is desired to adjust the shoe tree to fit shoes of different sizes, it is only necessary to rotate the shank a quarter of a turn relative to the support member, as previously stated. The heel member 58 functions as a cam to help force the toe piece into position in the shoe. The shoe tree can be easily and quickly adjusted and the shoe tree 20 can be used conveniently in mens shoes, while the shoe tree 71 in FIGURE 14 can be used in ladies shoes. The shoe tree 2% is constructed so that a dual action is provided since there will be a tendency for the toe piece to spread, and in addition the heel member will have a tendency to cause the toe piece to be urged forwardly.

In the arrangement of FIGURE 14 the heel member is not used so that only the spreading tendency of the toe piece 25 is utilized to exert the desired pressure, and this is sufiicient for ladies shoes or the like. The device can be readily adapted for childrens shoes of dilferent shapes or sizes.

The device can be made of a suitable plastic which will not readily break, and wherein the device can be made so that it can be sold at low cost. Also, indicia or numbers may be provided on the shoe tree contiguous to the ribs or flanges 53 and such numbers or indicia may correspond to different shoe sizes so that there Will be provided a means for accurately adjusting or setting the shoe tree for different shoe sizes. By using the shoe tree for childrens shoes, the shoe tree can be adjusted as tie child acquires larger sizes of shoes so that as the childrens feet grow the shoe tree can be lengthened or adjusted to fit the shoes of increasing sizes. Also, commercial establishments such as shoe stores and the like can conveniently place their insignia or advertisements on top of the section 61 if desired or required.

With further reference to the device of FIGURE 14, a circular finger grip can be formed integral with the base piece 72 for facilitating the manual positioning or removal of the shoe tree. In a mans shoe, the heel piece 58 helps hold the shoe tree in place, but for a womans shoe, such heel member is not needed and the spring action of the toe piece 25 is Sllfi'lCifiIlt to hold the shoe tree in place.

Although the invention herein described is fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore mentioned, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and that it is not to be limited to the details of construction herein described other than as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe tree comprising a toe piece having a slot therein, said slot being shaped to include a rearwardly disposed generally straight portion which terminates in a forwardly disposed enlarged circular portion, said toe piece further including tapered and inclined rear edges and a generally pointed rounded front portion, said toe piece further including spaced apart side sections having inwardly disposed flanges on the lower portions thereof, there being enlarged portions integral with the inner surfaces of said side sections, said enlarged portions being provided with recesses having indentations communicating therewith; a spring member including an intermediate portion and angularly arranged side portions terminatlng in spaced parallel fingers which are positioned in said recesses, said fingers including struck-out portions engaging said indentations; a support member of rectangular cross-section having an enlarged head on its front end, said head being hollow and having the intermediate portion of said spring member extended therethrough, said support member having an inner cylindrical bore extending longitudinally therethrough, there being a flat surface in said support member communicating with said bore, a shank having a generally cylindrical formation for telescopically engaging said bore, said shank including a body portion on one end thereof and said body portion being provided with a shoulder which is mounted for movement into and out of engagement with said fiat surface, said support member being provided with an inwardly projecting tongue, said shank having a plurality of spaced parallel arcuate ribs thereon, adjacent ribs defining therebetween grooves for selectively receiving said tongue, said ribs and body portion being provided with aligned registering slots to define a channel for selectively registering with said tongue, and a heel member including a lower and rearwardly disposed rounded surface, said heel member further including a slanting top section which is shaped to include a narrow rear portion and a forwardly disposed widened portion.

2. In a shoe tree, a toe piece having a slot therein and said slot being shaped to include a rearw-ardly disposed generally straight portion which terminates in a forwardly disposed enlarged circular portion, said toe piece further including tapered and inclined rear edges and a generally pointed rounded front portion, said toe piece further including spaced apart side sections having in wardly disposed flanges on the lower portions thereof, there being enlarged portions integral with the inner surfaces of said side sections, said enlarged portions being provided with recesses having indentations communicating therewith, a spring member including an intermediate i portion and angularly arranged side portions terminating in spaced parallel fingers positioned in said recesses, said fingers including struck-out portions engaging said indentations, and a member having an elarged head on its front end, said head being hollow and having the intermediate portion of said spring member extending therethrough.

Rcferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 964,132 Strachan July 12, 1910 967,795 Lougee Aug. 16, 1910 1,043,762 Gaines Nov. 5, 1912 1,119,744 Bowen Dec. 1, 1914 1,849,098 Legge Mar. 15, 1932 2,255,471 Mutch Sept. 9, 1941 ,375,931 Loewer et a1. May .15, 1945 

